Chamber and committees

The most recent available information on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s capital backlog is contained within the SFRS Risk Based Capital Investment Plan 2025.

Risk Based Capital Investment Plan 2025 | Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Audit Scotland and His Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate in Scotland are currently carrying out a joint audit and inspection of SFRS’s management of estate, fleet and equipment. This report is expected to be published in March 2027.

Deployment of resources and crewing arrangements are operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS). It has the ability to mobilise resources nationally for any wildfire incident.

As part of the SFRS Wildfire Strategy, which was launched in 2023, 37 community fire stations across Scotland now provide enhanced wildfire response capability. While this forms the specialist wildfire response capability all other operational community fire station personnel are able to respond to wildfire incidents and support operational activity.

The Service Delivery Review was carried out to ensure that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to provide a high level of service by realigning service provision to meet risk and demand.

Climate related emergencies are an increasing and evolving threat and the Service Delivery Review will lead to redistribution of resources to support emerging priorities including the preventative measures needed to continue to support the increase in these emergencies, including wildfires.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

Resources currently available to prison officers include Trauma Informed Practice training, access to NHS Education for Scotland’s Developing Your Trauma Skilled Practice online modules, and trauma-informed practice content delivered through the Officer Foundation Programme. The costs associated with developing and delivering these resources are incorporated within the overall SPS training budget.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many babies from West Lothian are admitted to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary each year.

The Scottish Government commissioned RSM UK to undertake detailed modelling and capacity planning to support local implementation plans. The resulting report identified a need for four additional staffed neonatal cots at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to meet the increased demand.

I want to be clear that the care provided to babies from West Lothian will not change under the new neonatal care model. Where there is suspected extremely pre-term labour, the aim is to transfer mothers before birth (an in-utero transfer) to a maternity unit with a neonatal intensive care unit.

All neonatal units in Scotland can provide overnight accommodation for families when needed. Neonatal intensive care units, and most local neonatal and special care units, offer rooms on or near the unit, with additional accommodation available nearby. The Young Patients Family Fund also helps families with the costs of food, travel and accommodation while their baby is receiving neonatal care.

Community benefits from renewable energy developments are voluntary arrangements between developers and local communities. Around £40 million in community benefits were offered to communities across Scotland in the last year, supported by the Scottish Government’s Good Practice Principles, which are currently being refreshed.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing:

SPS commissioned an independent review of organisational culture in November 2024 and, following a competitive tender exercise, appointed CROWE to undertake the review. During 2025, CROWE carried out site visits and engaged with staff, senior leaders and individuals in custody. SPS received the final report in March 2026. The report has been shared with senior leaders and engagement sessions are being undertaken to discuss the findings and recommendations ahead of its wider communication to staff and publication on our external website.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing:

The Prison Officer staffing complement refers to the total number of Prison Officer posts across the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

SPS does not record the number of occasions on which staffing complements are not met, as staffing levels fluctuate throughout the year and differ between establishments.

Based on staffing levels at the end of each financial year, Prison Officer numbers were below the agreed complement in two of the last five years. Over the most recent two-year period, the average vacancy rate was 0%.

Operational decision-making and decontamination procedures are matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

SFRS has established procedures and guidance to reduce firefighters' exposure to contaminants, including guidance that personnel should shower as soon as reasonably practicable following exposure. SFRS continues to review operational activity and learning from significant incidents to inform ongoing improvements to firefighter health, safety and wellbeing.

There will be a multi-agency debrief to examine the specific circumstances of the recent Cairngorms wildfire incident.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and has responsibility for operation of prisons including staffing.

The Scottish Prison Service reviewed its foundational training programme in 2025, informed by feedback from senior operational staff who had completed the programme. While the programme was found to have a number of strengths, opportunities were identified to further support officers transitioning into operational roles. In response, SPS is strengthening mentoring and work-based learning arrangements to help new officers apply their training effectively in practice.

The SPS continuously seeks feedback and seeks improvement in support of all training for those working in prisons.